Happy Trails: 10 Essential Tools to Pack on Your Next Hike

Photos by Ariel Zambelich

Spring CampHiking

hiking

BIKING COMING SOON

RAFTING COMING SOON

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2. Adidas Climacool Droga

$75

When the mercury peaks, the last thing you want to do is strap a pair of heavy
leather boots to your trotters.
Adidas’s Climacool shoes are light (9 ounces per shoe), strappy amphibians
with breathable synthetic uppers. Good for moderate hikes or creek-side antics —
just don’t stub your toes.
by Bradley Hughes

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3. Deuter AC Lite 22

$100

With 22 liters of storage,
Deuter’s AC Lite pack is good for two, possibly three nights on the trail.
The “Aircomfort” back separates your back from the bulk of the load.
The approach is very simple — the shoulder straps are non-adjustable and there aren’t
a lot of pockets — but everything is well-placed and the looks are stylish.
by Bradley Hughes

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1. Revo Harness sunglasses

$170

Revo’s new Harness glasses have polarized
polycarbonate lenses and a frame made from eco-conscious materials. Revo’s standard
perks are here — great fit, water-shedding coating — though my lenses kept popping
out, which shouldn’t happen on such pricey shades. A floating buoy-leash is included,
so you’ll never lose them at the bottom of the river.
by Bradley Hughes

1. Revo Harness sunglasses

$170

Revo’s new Harness glasses have polarized
polycarbonate lenses and a frame made from eco-conscious materials. Revo’s standard
perks are here — great fit, water-shedding coating — though my lenses kept popping
out, which shouldn’t happen on such pricey shades. A floating buoy-leash is included,
so you’ll never lose them at the bottom of the river.
by Bradley Hughes

Mammut Crea Zip Backpack

$90

The Crea Zip
is a medium-size hiking pack that offers a comfortable fit and ample storage for a full day on the trail.
Its “4 Stream” ventilation system uses stiff mesh to lift the body away from most of your back, so you
(and the pack) don’t soak in sweat. Accommodates a hydration bladder.
by Christina Bonnington

Alite Designs Mayfly

$100

Camp chairs are super-convenient, but only when you’re sitting in one. Some primo
outdoor furniture worth schlepping is the
Mayfly chair from Alite. Just shy of two pounds, it collapses into a
compact cylinder about the size of one of those Foster’s beer cans. Big boys welcome:
it holds up to 250 pounds.
by Michael Calore

Danner Mountain Trail Left Bank

$350

The buttery-soft leather and footbed make the rugged
Danner Mountain Trail Left Bank boot a luxury in the wilderness.
They’re both brawny and beautiful, but be warned: they’re bulky, run large,
and take some time to break in, as the blisters on my Achilles will attest.
by Nathan Hurst

Columbia Freeze Degree Short-Sleeve Top

$60

On sweaty, strenuous hikes, Columbia’s
Freeze Degree top actively works to keep you cool. Here, Columbia employs
some unique material technology that reacts with your sweat to lower the surface
temperature of the fabric. The fit is snug, but not uncomfortably so, though you will
have to adjust it every so often because it tends to ride up.
by Valentina Palladino

Boreas Bootlegger Modular 3-in-1 Pack

$180

The lightweight metal skeleton of the Bootlegger
pops into and out of three different backpacks: large, small, and a drysack.
No matter which size bag you attach, the frame keeps the load high and comfortable
on your back. Only one of the three sizes fits onto the frame at a time, but I just
stashed gear in the others and tossed them in the trunk.
by Nathan Hurst

Right now — late spring and early summer — is the best time of the year to hit the trails. The weather is cooler, with the winter storms having passed, and the stifling dog days of late summer are still months away. The creeks and rivers are flush from the recent rains, and the camping spots that were looking pretty ragged last Labor Day have had time to replenish and renew.

We took advantage of the lush spring bloom here in California to go test some of the latest hiking and camping gear. We spent three days in the Sierra foothills up north and hiked around some of the local river valleys. We mostly tested gear for day hikes: backpacks from Deuter, Mammut and Boreas, some heavy-duty hiking boots from Danner, and some lighter, amphibious hiking shoes from Adidas. We also tried out some other “nice to haves” for the trail: a pair of featherweight sunglasses from Revo, a compact folding chair from Alite Designs, and a high-tech baselayer from Columbia that activates tiny clusters of cooling fibers when it senses your skin heating up. Finally, we took with us a wood-burning stove from BioLite, using it to make a trail-side latte, complete with foamed milk. (You can take the kid out of the city…)

While up in the wilderness, we also rode mountain bikes and braved the rapids on the American river. And of course, we tested gear made for those activities, too. We’ll bring you the results of those excursions in next week’s installment of Wired Spring Camp.